Steinberg Cubase 5.0 Operation Manual

Operation Manual

Cristina Bachmann, Heiko Bischoff, Marion Bröer, Sabine Pfeifer

Thanks to: Georg Bruns

The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a commitment on the part of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH. The software described by this document is subject to a License Agreement and may not be copied to other media except as specifically allowed in the License Agreement. No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced or otherwise transmitted or recorded, for any purpose, without prior written permission by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.

All product and company names are ™ or ® trademarks of their respective owners. Windows XP is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Windows Vista is a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The Mac logo is a trademark used under license. Macintosh and Power Macintosh are registered trademarks.

Release Date: January 07, 2009

© Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH, 2009.

All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

10Part I: Getting into the details

11About this manual

12Welcome!

13VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

14About this chapter

14 Setting up busses

18 Using the busses

20 Setting up Group and FX channels

20 About monitoring

20 External instruments/effects (Cubase only)

25The Project window

26Background

28 Window Overview

34 Operations

56 Options

59Playback and the Transport panel

60Background

61Operations

63 Options and Settings

65The Virtual Keyboard

66Recording

67Background

67 Basic recording methods

69 Audio recording specifics

79 MIDI recording specifics

84 Options and Settings

87Recovery of audio recordings after system failure

88Fades, crossfades and envelopes

89Creating fades

91The Fade dialogs

92Creating crossfades

93The Crossfade dialog

94Auto Fades and Crossfades

95Event Envelopes

103The Transpose functions

104Introduction

104 Transposing your music

107 Other functions

109The mixer

110About this chapter

110 Overview

112 Configuring the mixer

116The audio-related channel strips

117The MIDI channel strips

117 The input and output channels

117 Basic mixing procedures

121 Audio-specific procedures

128MIDI-specific procedures

129Utilities

132 VST Mixer Diagrams

135Control Room (Cubase only)

136Background

137Control Room operations

137 Configuring the Control Room

140The Control Room Overview

141The Control Room Mixer

146Studios and Studio Sends

149Direct Monitoring and latency

150Audio effects

151About this chapter

151Overview

152Insert effects

157Send effects

161Using the Side-Chain input

163Using external effects (Cubase only)

163Editing effects

164Effect presets

166Installing and managing effect plug-ins

96The Arranger track

97Introduction

97Setting up the Arranger track

98Working with arranger events

100Flattening the Arranger chain

101Live Mode

102Arranging your music to video

4

Table of Contents

169VST Instruments and Instrument tracks

170Introduction

170 VST Instrument channels vs. instrument tracks

170 VST Instrument channels

172 Instrument tracks

174What do I need? Instrument channel or Instrument track?

174Instrument Freeze

175VST instruments and processor load

175Using presets for VSTi configuration

178About latency

179External instruments (Cubase only)

180Surround sound (Cubase only)

181Background

182Operations

188Automation

189Introduction

189Enabling and disabling the writing of automation data

190What can be automated?

191The Automation panel

191 Automation modes

193 Automation performance utilities

195The Settings section

196Hints and further options

196Automation track operations

199Working with automation curves

202MIDI Controller automation

204Audio processing and functions

205Background

205 Audio processing

213Applying plug-ins (Cubase only)

214The Offline Process History dialog

215Freeze Edits

216Detect Silence

217The Spectrum Analyzer (Cubase only)

218Statistics (Cubase only)

219The Sample Editor

220Background

221Window overview

224 General Operations

230Options and settings

231AudioWarp: Tempo matching audio

234Working with hitpoints and slices

238Free Warp

241Flattening the realtime processing

243VariAudio (Cubase only)

254The Audio Part Editor

255Background

255 Opening the Audio Part Editor

255 Window overview

257Operations

258Common methods

259Options and Settings

260The Pool

261Background

261 Window overview

263 Operations

273The MediaBay

274Introduction

276 Window overview

276 Browsing for media files

279 Finding files in the Viewer section

283Previewing files in the Scope section

284The Tag Editor (Cubase only)

288Working with Track Presets

289Introduction

289Types of track presets

290Applying track presets

292Creating a track preset

293Creating tracks from track presets or VST presets

293Previewing MIDI, instrument and VST presets independently of tracks

295Track Quick Controls

296Introduction

296Setting up the Quick Controls tab

297Setting up quick controls on an external remote controller

298Quick controls and automatable parameters

5

Table of Contents

299Remote controlling Cubase

300Introduction

300Setting Up

301Operations

302The Generic Remote device

304Track Quick Controls

304Apple Remote (Macintosh only)

305MIDI realtime parameters and effects

306Introduction

306 The Inspector – General handling

306 The Inspector sections

310 MIDI effects

313Managing plug-ins

314Using MIDI devices

315Background

315 MIDI devices – general settings and patch handling

320 About Device panels (Cubase only)

323 About Studio Connections (Cubase only)

325MIDI processing and quantizing

326Introduction

326 The Quantizing functions

331Making your settings permanent

332Dissolve Part

333Bounce Selection

333 Repeat Loop

333 Other MIDI functions

337The MIDI editors

338Introduction

338 Opening a MIDI editor

340 The Key Editor – Overview

342 Key Editor operations

356 The In-Place Editor

358The Drum Editor – Overview

359Drum Editor operations

361Working with drum maps

364Using drum name lists

365The List Editor – Overview

365List Editor operations

368Working with System Exclusive messages

370Recording System Exclusive parameter changes

370Editing System Exclusive messages

372VST Expression

373Introduction

374VST Expression in Cubase

377 Creating and editing Expression Maps

380The Logical Editor, Transformer and Input Transformer

381Introduction

381Opening the Logical Editor

382Window overview

382 Setting up filter conditions

386Selecting a function

387Specifying actions

389 Applying the defined actions

389 Working with presets

389 The Input Transformer

391The Project Logical Editor

392Introduction

392Opening the Project Logical Editor

392Window overview

393Setting up filter conditions

397 Specifying actions

399 Selecting a function

399 Applying Macros

399 Applying the defined actions

399 Working with presets

401Editing tempo and signature

402Background

402 Tempo and signature display

404 Editing tempo and signature

406 Process Tempo (Cubase only)

406The Process Bars dialog (Cubase only)

407The Beat Calculator

408Merge Tempo From Tapping

408 The Time Warp tool

413The Project Browser

414Window Overview

415Editing tracks

419Export Audio Mixdown

420Introduction

420 Mixing down to audio files

422 The available file formats

6

Table of Contents

	427	Synchronization	479	Key commands
	428	Background	480	Introduction
	428	Synchronization signals	480	Setting up key commands
	429	Synchronizing the transport vs. synchronizing audio	483	Setting up tool modifier keys
	430	Making basic settings and connections	484	The default key commands
	431	Synchronization settings	487	Part II: Score layout and printing
	436	Machine Control
	437	Sync Options	488	How the Score Editor works
	438	Working with VST System Link
			489	About this chapter
	438	Preparations
			489	Welcome!
	440	Activating VST System Link
			489	How the Score Editor operates
	443	Application examples
			489	MIDI notes vs. score notes
	445	Video
			490	Display Quantize
	446	Background	492	Entering notes by hand vs. recording notes
	446	Before you start	493	The basics
	448	Operations
			494	About this chapter
	451	ReWire
			494	Preparations
	452	Introduction	494	Opening the Score Editor
	452	Launching and quitting	494	The project cursor
	453	Activating ReWire channels	494	Playing back and recording
	453	Using the transport and tempo controls	495	Page Mode
	454	How the ReWire channels are handled in Cubase	495	Changing the Zoom factor
	454	Routing MIDI via ReWire2	496	The active staff
	454	Considerations and limitations	496	Making page setup settings
	455	File handling	496	Designing your work space
			498	About the Score Editor context menus
	456	Working with Projects	498	About dialogs in the Score Editor
	459	Importing audio	499	Setting key, clef and time signature
	462	Exporting and importing OMF files (Cubase only)	503	Transposing instruments
	464	Exporting and importing standard MIDI files	503	Printing from the Score Editor
	465	Exporting and importing MIDI loops	503	Exporting pages as image files
	466	Exporting and importing tracks (Cubase only)	504	Working order
	467	Other Import/Export functions	504	Force update
	467	Cleanup	505	Transcribing MIDI recordings
	468	Customizing
			506	About this chapter
	469	Background	506	About transcription
	469	Workspaces	506	Getting the parts ready
	471	Using the Setup options	506	Strategies: Preparing parts for score printout
	472	Customizing track controls	507	Staff settings
	473	About preference presets (Cubase only)	507	Situations which require additional techniques
	474	Appearance	508	Inserting Display Quantize changes
	475	Applying track and event colors	509	Strategies: Adding Display Quantize changes
	478	Where are the settings stored?	509	The Explode function
			510	Using “Scores Notes To MIDI”

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Table of Contents

	511	Entering and editing notes	540	Additional note and rest formatting
	512	About this chapter	541	About this chapter
	512	Score settings	541	Background: Note stems
	513	Note values and positions	541	Setting stem direction
	514	Adding and editing notes	542	Stem length
	516	Selecting notes	542	Accidentals and enharmonic shift
	517	Moving notes	543	Changing the note head shape
	518	Duplicating notes	544	Other note details
	518	Cut, copy and paste	545	Coloring notes
	519	Editing pitches of individual notes	545	Copying settings between notes
	520	Changing the length of notes	545	Handling beaming
	521	Splitting a note in two	549	About tied notes
	521	Working with the Display Quantize tool	550	Graphic moving of notes
	521	Split (piano) staves	551	Cue notes
	522	Strategies: Multiple staves	552	Grace notes
	522	Inserting and editing clefs, keys or time signatures	552	Tuplets
	523	Deleting notes	555	Working with symbols
	524	Staff settings
			556	About this chapter
	525	About this chapter	556	Background: The different layers
	525	Staff settings	557	The Symbols Inspector
	525	Making settings	558	Important! – Symbols, staves and voices
	525	Working with staff presets	559	Adding symbols to the score
	526	Staff names	565	Selecting symbols
	526	Key and clef	566	Moving and duplicating symbols
	526	Display Quantize and interpretation Options	569	Changing length, size and shape
	529	Display Transpose	570	Deleting symbols
	529	The Options tab	570	Copy and paste
	530	The Polyphonic tab	570	Alignment
	530	The Tablature tab	570	Symbol details

531Polyphonic voicing

532About this chapter

532Background: Polyphonic voicing

533Setting up the voices

535Strategies: How many voices do I need?

535Entering notes into voices

535Checking which voice a note belongs to

536Moving notes between voices

537Handling rests

537Voices and Display Quantize

538Creating crossed voicings

539Automatic polyphonic voicing – Merge All Staves

539Converting voices to tracks – Extract Voices

576Working with chords

577About this chapter

577 Inserting Chord symbols

579Global chord settings

580Working with text

581About this chapter

581 Adding and editing text symbols

583 Different types of text

587 Text functions

8

Table of Contents

	590	Working with layouts	617	The score and MIDI playback
	591	About this chapter	618	About this chapter
	591	Background: Layouts	618	Scores and the Arranger mode
	591	Creating a layout	618	The MIDI Meaning function
	591	Opening a layout	619	Dynamic crescendo symbols
	591	Layout operations	620	Tips and Tricks
	592	Using layouts – an example
			621	Overview
	592	Marker Track to Form
			621	Useful editing techniques
	593	Working with MusicXML
			622	Frequently asked questions
	594	Introduction	624	If you wish you had a faster computer
	595	Importing and exporting MusicXML files	625	Index

597Designing your score: additional techniques

598About this chapter

598Layout settings

599Staff size

599Hiding/showing objects

600Coloring notes

600Multiple rests

601Editing bar lines

602Creating upbeats

602Setting the number of bars across the page

603Moving bar lines

604Dragging staves

605Adding brackets and braces

606Auto Layout

607Reset Layout

608Breaking bar lines

609Scoring for drums

610About this chapter

610 Background: Drum maps in the Score Editor

610 Setting up the drum map

612Setting up a staff for drum scoring

612Entering and editing notes

612Using “Single Line Drum Staff”

613Creating tablature

614About this chapter

614Creating tablature automatically

615Creating tablature manually

615Tablature number appearance

615Editing

616Note head shape

9

Table of Contents

Part I: Getting into the details

1

About this manual

Welcome!

This is the Operation Manual for Steinberg’s Cubase. Here you will find detailed information about all the features and functions in the program.

About the program versions

The documentation covers two program versions; Cubase and Cubase Studio, for two different operating systems or “platforms”; Windows and Mac OS X.

Some features described in the documentation are only applicable to the Cubase version. Whenever this is the case this will be clearly indicated in the heading of the related subject.

Similarly, some features and settings are specific to one of the platforms, Windows or Mac OS X. This is clearly stated in the applicable cases. In other words:

Ö If nothing else is said, all descriptions and procedures in the documentation are valid for both Cubase and Cubase Studio, under Windows and Mac OS X.

The screenshots are taken from the Windows version of Cubase.

Key command conventions

Many of the default key commands in Cubase use modifier keys, some of which are different depending on the operating system. For example, the default key command for Undo is [Ctrl]-[Z] under Windows and [Command]-[Z] under Mac OS X.

When key commands with modifier keys are described in this manual, they are shown with the Windows modifier key first, in the following way:

[Win modifier key]/[Mac modifier key]-[key]

For example, [Ctrl]/[Command]-[Z] means “press [Ctrl] under Windows or [Command] under Mac OS X, then press [Z]”.

Similarly, [Alt]/[Option]-[X] means “press [Alt] under Windows or [Option] under Mac OS X, then press [X]”.

Ö Please note that this manual often refers to right-click- ing, e.g. to open context menus. If you are using a Mac with a single-button mouse, hold down [Ctrl] and click.

12

About this manual

2

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

About this chapter

Cubase uses a system of input and output busses to transfer audio between the program and the audio hardware.

•Input busses let you route audio from the inputs on your audio hardware into the program. This means that when you record audio, you will always do this through one or several input busses.

•Output busses let you route audio from the program to the outputs on your audio hardware. When you play back audio, you will always do this through one or several output busses.

As you can see, the input and output busses are vital when you work with Cubase. This is why you find this chapter at the beginning of the Operation Manual – once you understand the bus system and know how to set up the busses properly, it will be easy to go on with recording, playing back, mixing and doing surround work (Cubase only).

Setting up busses

Strategies

In Cubase, you can create any number of busses. A number of surround formats are supported (Cubase only). In Cubase Studio, busses are in mono or stereo.

Ö The bus configuration is saved with the project – therefore it is a good idea to add and set up the busses you need and save these in a template project (see “Save as Template” on page 457).

When you start working on new projects, you start from this template. That way you get your standard bus configuration without having to make new bus settings for each new project. If you need to work with different bus configurations in different projects, you can either create several different templates or store your configurations as presets (see “Other bus operations” on page 17). The templates can of course also contain other settings that you regularly use – sample rate, record format, a basic track layout, etc.

So, which type of busses do you need? This depends on your audio hardware, your general audio setup (e.g. surround speaker setup) and what kind of projects you work with.

Here’s an example:

Let’s say you are using audio hardware with eight analog inputs and outputs and digital stereo connections (10 inputs and outputs all in all). Furthermore, you work with a surround setup in 5.1 format (Cubase only). Here’s a list of busses you may wish to add:

Input busses

•Most likely you need at least one stereo input bus assigned to an analog input pair. This would let you record stereo material. If you want to be able to record in stereo from other analog input pairs as well, you add stereo input busses for these, too.

•Although you can record mono tracks from one side of a stereo input, it may be a good idea to add a dedicated mono input bus. This could be assigned to an analog input to which you have connected a dedicated microphone pre-amp for example. Again, you can have several different mono busses.

•You probably want a dedicated stereo input bus assigned to the digital stereo input, for digital transfers.

•Cubase only: If you want to transfer surround material directly to a surround track, e.g. from surround-configured location recording equipment, you need an input bus in that surround format – in this example, this would be a 5.1 input bus.

Output busses

•You probably want one or several stereo output busses for monitoring and listening to stereo mixes.

•For digital transfers, you need a stereo bus assigned to the digital stereo output as well.

•Cubase only: You need a surround bus in the format of your speaker configuration (in this example, 5.1) assigned to the correct outputs (which in turn are connected to the correct speakers). You may want additional surround busses if you tend to work in different surround formats.

Different busses can use the same inputs/outputs on the audio hardware! For example, you may want a stereo output bus assigned to the same outputs as the front stereo channels in your surround bus – this makes it easy to listen to stereo mixes without having to reconnect your speakers.

14

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

Preparations

Before you set up busses, you should name the inputs and outputs on your audio hardware. For example, if you are using a 5.1 surround speaker setup, you should name the outputs according to which speaker they are connected to (Left, Right, Center and so on).

The reason for this is compatibility – it makes it easier to transfer projects between different computers and setups. For example, if you move your project to another studio, the audio hardware may be of a different model. But if both you and the other studio owner have given your inputs and outputs names according to the surround setup (rather than names based on the audio hardware model), Cubase will automatically find the correct inputs and outputs for your busses and you will be able to play and record without having to change the settings.

Use the Device Setup dialog to assign names to the inputs and outputs of your audio hardware:

1.Open the Device Setup dialog from the Devices menu.

2.Make sure that the correct driver for your audio hardware is selected on the VST Audio System page, so that the audio card is listed in the Devices list.

3.Select your audio card in the list.

The available input and output ports on your audio hardware are listed on the right.

4. To rename a port, click its name in the “Show as” column and enter a new name.

• If needed, you can also disable ports by deactivating them in the “Visible” column.

Disabled ports will not show up in the VST Connections window when you are making bus settings. If you attempt to disable a port that is used by a bus, you will be asked whether this is really what you want – note that this will remove the port from the bus!

5. Click OK to close the Device Setup dialog.

Ö If you open a project created on another computer and the port names do not match (or the port configuration is not the same – e.g. the project is created on a system with multi-channel i/o and you open it on a stereo in/out system), the Pending Connections dialog will appear.

This allows you to manually re-route ports used in the project to ports available in your system.

Mac OS X only: Retrieving channel names

For some audio cards, you can automatically retrieve the ASIO channel names for the ports of your audio hardware:

1.Open the Device Setup dialog via the Devices menu.

2.On the VST Audio System page, select your audio card on the “ASIO driver” pop up menu.

3.In the Devices list to the left, select your audio card.

The available settings are displayed.

4.In the settings section to the right, click the Control Panel button.

This opens the control panel for your audio hardware.

5.Activate the “Use CoreAudio Channel Names” option.

6.When you now open the VST Connections window to set up the busses in your system, you will find that the port names in the Device Port column correspond to the names that are used by the CoreAudio driver.

Ö If you want to use the project later on with an earlier version of Cubase, you will have to re-assign the port connections in the VST Connections window (see below).

Mac OS X only: Port selection and activation

On the settings page for your audio card (opened via the Device Setup dialog, see above), you can specify which input and which output port should be active. This allows you, for example, to use the Microphone input instead of the Line input or even to deactivate the audio card input or output completely, if required.

Ö This function is only available for Built-In Audio, standard USB audio devices and a certain number of other audio cards (e.g. Pinnacle CineWave).

15

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

The VST Connections window

You add and set up busses in the VST Connections window, opened from the Devices menu.

This window contains the following tabs:

•The Inputs and Outputs tabs are for viewing input busses or output busses, respectively.

•The Group/FX tab allows you to create Group and FX channels/tracks and to make output assignments for these. See “Setting up Group and FX channels” on page 20.

•The External FX tab (Cubase only) allows you to create effect send/return busses for connecting external effects which can then be selected via the effect pop-up menus from inside the program. See “External instruments/effects (Cubase only)” on page 20 and “Using external effects (Cubase only)” on page 163 for further information.

•The External Instruments tab (Cubase only) allows you to create input/output busses for connecting external instruments. See “External instruments/effects (Cubase only)” on page 20 and the chapter “VST Instruments and Instrument tracks” on page 169 for further information.

•The Studio tab (Cubase only) is where you enable and configure the Control Room. See the chapter “Control Room (Cubase only)” on page 135.

For the time being, we shall focus on how to set up input and output busses.

Depending on which tab you have selected, Inputs or Outputs, the window lists the current input or output busses, with the following columns:

Column	Description
Bus Name	Lists the busses. You can select busses and rename
	them by clicking on them in this column.
Speakers	Indicates the speaker configuration (mono, stereo, sur-
	round formats) of each bus.

Column	Description
Device Port	When you have “opened” a bus (by clicking its + button
	in the Bus Name column) this column shows which phys-
	ical inputs/outputs on your audio hardware are used by
	the bus.
Click	You can route the click to a specific output bus, regard-
	less of the actual Control Room output, or indeed when
	the Control Room is disabled.

Adding a bus

1.Click the Inputs or Outputs tab depending on which you want to add.

2.Click the Add Bus button.

A dialog appears.

3. Select the desired (channel) configuration.

The pop-up menu contains Mono and Stereo options as well as several surround formats (Cubase only). To select another surround format, use the “More…” submenu.

• Alternatively you can right-click in the VST Connections window and add a bus in the desired format directly from the context menu.

The new bus appears with the ports visible.

4. Click in the Device Port column to select an input/output port for a channel in the bus.

The pop-up menu that appears lists the ports with the names you have assigned in the Device Setup dialog. Repeat this for all channels in the bus.

Adding a child bus (Cubase only)

A surround bus is essentially a set of mono channels – 6 channels in the case of the 5.1 format. If you have a mono track in the project, you can route it to a separate speaker channel in the bus (or route it to the parent sur-

round bus and use the SurroundPanner to position it in the surround image). But what if you have a stereo track that you simply want to route to a stereo channel pair within the bus (Left and Right or Left Surround and Right Surround for example)? For this you need to create a child bus.

Audio Device This shows the currently selected ASIO driver.

16

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

1. Select the surround bus in the list and right-click on it.

A pop-up menu appears.

2. Select a channel configuration from the “Add Child Bus” submenu.

As you can see, you can create stereo child busses (routed to various speaker channel pairs in the surround bus) or other surround bus formats (with fewer channels than the “parent bus”).

The child bus you created will be available for direct routing in the mixer. It is a part of the parent surround bus, which means there will be no separate channel strip for it.

Although child busses are probably most useful in output busses, you can also create child busses within a surround input bus – for example if you want to record a stereo channel pair (e.g. front left-right) in the surround bus to a separate stereo track.

Setting the Main Mix bus (the default output bus)

The Main Mix is the output bus that each new channel in the mixer will be assigned to when it is created.

Any of the output busses in the VST Connections window can be the default output bus. By right-clicking on the name of an output bus, you can set this bus as the Main Mix bus.

When creating new audio, group or FX channels in the mixer, they will automatically be routed to the default bus.

The default bus is indicated by an orange colored speaker icon next to its name in the VST Connections window.

Presets

On the Inputs and Outputs tabs, you will find a Presets menu. Here you can find three different types of presets:

•A number of standard bus configurations.

•Automatically created presets tailored to your specific hardware configuration.

On each startup, Cubase will analyze the physical inputs and outputs provided by your audio hardware and create a number of hardwaredependent presets with the following possible configurations:

•one stereo bus

•various combinations of stereo and mono busses

•a number of mono busses

•Cubase only: one 5.1 bus (if you have 6 or more inputs)

•Cubase only: various combinations of 5.1 and stereo busses (if you have 6 or more inputs)

•Cubase only: various combinations of 5.1 and mono busses (if you have 6 or more inputs)

•You can also save your own setups as presets.

To store the current configuration as a preset, click the Store “+” button and enter a name for the preset. You can then select the stored configuration directly from the Presets pop-up menu at any time. To remove a stored preset, select it and click the “-” button.

Other bus operations

•To change the port assignment for a bus, you proceed as when you added it: Make sure the channels are visible (by clicking the “+” button next to the bus, or by clicking the “+ All” button at the top of the window) and click in the Device Port column to select ports.

•To remove a bus you do not need, select it in the list, right-click and select “Remove Bus” from the pop-up menu, or press [Backspace].

Setting the default output bus in the VST Connections window.

17

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

Using the busses

This section describes briefly how to use the input and output busses you have created. For details refer to the chapters “Recording” on page 66 and “The mixer” on page 109.

Routing

• If you press [Shift]-[Alt]/[Option] and select an input or output bus in the Track list or the Mixer Routing View (Cubase only), it will be chosen for all selected channels.

This makes it easy to quickly set several channels to use the same input or output. Similarly, if you press [Shift] and select a bus, the following selected channels will be set to use incrementing busses – the second selected channel will use the second bus, the third will use the third bus and so on.

When you play back an audio track (or any other audio-re- lated channel in the mixer – VST Instrument channels, ReWire channels, etc.), you route it to an output bus. In the same way, when you record on an audio track you select from which input bus the audio should be sent.

• You can select input and output busses in the Inspector, using the Input and Output Routing pop-up menus.

• You can also select busses in the Routing panel at the top of each channel strip in the mixer.

ÖIf the Routing panel is not shown, click the Show Routing button in the extended common panel or open the Mixer context menu and select “Show Routing View” from the Window submenu (see “Normal vs. Extended channel strips” on page 112).

ÖFor audio-related channel types other than audio track channels (i.e. VST Instrument channels, ReWire channels, Group channels and FX channels), only the Output Routing pop-up menu is available.

When selecting an input bus for a track you can only select busses that correspond to the track’s channel configuration. Here are the details for input busses:

•Mono tracks can be routed to mono input busses or individual channels within a stereo or surround input bus (Cubase only).

•Mono tracks can be routed to External Inputs configured on the Studio tab of the VST Connections window. These can be mono or individual channels within a stereo or surround bus (Cubase only). They can also be routed to the Talkback input.

•Mono tracks can also be routed to mono output busses, mono group output busses or mono FX channel output busses, provided that these will not lead to feedback.

•Stereo tracks can be routed to mono input busses, stereo input busses or stereo child busses within a surround bus (Cubase only).

•Stereo tracks can be routed to External Inputs that are configured in the Studio tab of the VST Connections window. These can be mono input busses or stereo input busses. They can also be routed to the Talkback input.

•Stereo tracks can also be routed to mono or stereo output busses, mono or stereo group output busses and mono or stereo FX channel output busses, provided that these will not lead to feedback.

•Surround tracks can be routed to surround input busses (Cubase only).

•Surround tracks can be routed to External Inputs that are configured in the Studio tab of the VST Connections window, provided that these have the same input configuration.

•Surround tracks can also be routed to output busses, provided that these have the same input configuration or will not lead to feedback.

For output busses any assignment is possible.

Assignments that will lead to feedback are not available in the pop-up menu. This is also indicated by a one-way symbol.

To disconnect input or output bus assignments, select “No Bus” from the corresponding pop-up menu.

18

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

Viewing the busses in the mixer

In the mixer, busses are represented by input and output channels (shown in separate panes to the left and right in the window). You can show or hide these independently by clicking the Hide Input Channels and Hide Output Channels buttons in the common panel:

Hide Input Channels (Cubase only)

Hide Output Channels

Ö In Cubase Studio, only the output busses are visible in the mixer!

The input busses you have created in the VST Connections window are available for selection on the Input Routing pop-up menus, but you will not be able to make any specific mixer settings for the input busses.

Input channels (Cubase only)

The input channels are shown to the left in the mixer. As you can see, each input channel resembles a regular mixer channel strip.

Here you can do the following:

•Check and adjust the recording level using the Input Gain knobs and/or the level fader.

See “Setting input levels” on page 71.

•Change the phase of the input signal.

This is done by clicking the Input Phase button next to the Input Gain control.

• Add effects or EQ to the input bus.

See “Recording with effects (Cubase only)” on page 78 for an example of how to add effects to your recording at the input bus stage.

The settings you make in the input channel strip will be a permanent part of the recorded audio file!

Output channels

The output channels are shown to the right in the mixer. Here you can do the following:

•Adjust the output level for the busses with the faders.

•Open the Channel Settings window to add effects or EQ.

These will affect the whole bus. Examples of effects you may want to add here include compressors, limiters and dithering. See the chapter “Audio effects” on page 150.

19

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

Setting up Group and FX channels

The Group/FX tab in the VST Connections window shows all Group channels and FX channels in your project. You can create new Group or FX channels by clicking the corresponding Add button. This is the same as creating Group channel tracks or FX channel tracks in the Project window (see “Using group channels” on page 127 and the chapter “Audio effects” on page 150).

However, the VST Connections window also allows you to create child busses for Group and FX channels (Cubase only). This is useful e.g. if you have Group or FX channels in surround format and want to route stereo channels to specific channel pairs in these.

To create a child bus for a Group channel or FX channel in surround format, proceed as follows:

1.Open the VST Connection window and select the Groups/FX tab.

2.Select the Group or FX channel in the list and rightclick it.

3.Select a channel configuration from the “Add Child Bus” submenu.

The child bus you created will be available for direct routing in the mixer. It is a part of the parent Group or FX channel, which means there will be no separate channel strip for it.

About monitoring

By default, monitoring is done via the Control Room (see the chapter “Control Room (Cubase only)” on page 135). When the Control Room is disabled on the Studio tab of the VST Connections window, the Main Mix bus (see “Setting the Main Mix bus (the default output bus)” on page 17) will be used for monitoring.

Ö In Cubase Studio, the Main Mix bus is always used for monitoring.

Setting the monitoring level

When you are using the Control Room for monitoring, this is set in the Control Room Mixer, see “The Control Room Mixer” on page 141. When you are monitoring via the Main Mix bus, you can adjust the monitoring level in the regular Project Mixer.

External instruments/effects (Cubase only)

Cubase supports the integration of external effect devices and external instruments, e.g. hardware synthesizers, into the sequencer signal flow.

You can use the External Instruments tab and the External FX tab in the VST Connections window to define the necessary send and return ports and access the instruments/effects through the VST Instruments window.

External instruments and effects are indicated by an “x” icon in the list next to their names in the respective pop-up menus.

Requirements

•To use external effects, you need audio hardware with multiple inputs and outputs. To use external instruments, a MIDI interface must be connected to your computer.

An external effect will require at least one input and one output (or input/ output pairs for stereo effects) in addition to the input/output ports you use for recording and monitoring.

•As always, audio hardware with low-latency drivers is a good thing to have.

Cubase will compensate for the input/output latency and ensure that the audio processed through external effects is not shifted in time.

Connecting the external effect/instrument

To set up an external effect or instrument, proceed as follows:

1. Connect an unused output pair on your audio hardware to the input pair on your external hardware device.

In this example, we assume that the hardware device has stereo inputs and outputs.

20

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

2. Connect an unused input pair on your audio hardware to the output pair on your hardware device.

Please note that it is possible to select input/output ports for external effects/instruments that are already used (i.e. that have been selected as inputs/outputs in the VST Connections window). If you select a used port for an external effect/instrument, the existing port assignment will be broken. Note that you will not get a warning message!

Once the external device is connected to the audio hardware of your computer, you have to set up the input/output busses in Cubase.

Setting up external effects

1.Open the VST Connections window from the Devices menu.

2.Open the External FX tab and click “Add External FX”.

3. In the dialog that appears, enter a name for the external effect and specify the Send and Return configurations.

Depending on the type of effect, you can specify mono, stereo or surround configurations.

• You also need a MIDI device that corresponds with the external effect. You can then click the Associate MIDI Device button to connect the two.

You can use the MIDI Device Manager to create a new MIDI device for the effect. Note that delay compensation will only be applied for the effect when you use MIDI devices. For information about the MIDI Device Manager and user device panels see the chapter “Using MIDI devices” on page 314.

4.Click OK. This adds a new External FX bus.

5.Click in the Device Port column for the Send Bus “Left” and “Right” ports and select the outputs on your audio hardware.

6.Click in the Device Port column for the Return Bus “Left” and “Right” ports and select the inputs on your audio hardware.

7.If you like, make additional settings for the bus.

These are found in the columns to the right. Note that you can adjust these while actually using the external effect – which may be easier as you can hear the result. The following options are available:

Setting	Description
Delay	If your hardware effect device has an inherent delay (la-
	tency), you should enter this value here, as it allows Cu-
	base to compensate for that delay during playback. You
	can also let the delay value be determined by the pro-
	gram: Right-click in the Delay column for the effect and
	select “Check User Delay”. Note that you do not have to
	take the latency of the audio hardware into account – this
	is handled automatically by the program.
Send Gain	Allows you to adjust the level of the signal being sent to
	the external effect.
Return Gain	Allows you to adjust the level of the signal coming in from
	the external effect.
	Note however that excessive output levels from an external
	effect device may cause clipping in the audio hardware.
	The Return Gain setting cannot be used to compensate
	for this – you have to lower the output level on the effect
	device instead.
MIDI Device	When you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens
	where you can disconnect the effect from the associated
	MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a new device or
	open the MIDI Device Manager to edit the MIDI device.
	When Studio Manager 2 is installed, you may also select
	an OPT editor to access your external effect.
Used	Whenever you insert an external effect into an audio
	track, this column shows a checkmark (“x”) to indicate
	that the effect is being used.

8. When you are done, close the VST Connections window.

Ö Note that external device ports are exclusive, see “Connecting the external effect/instrument” on page 20.

How to use the external effect

If you now click an insert effect slot for any channel, you will find the new external FX bus listed on the “External Plug-ins” submenu.

When you select it, the following happens:

•The external FX bus is loaded into the effect slot just like a regular effect plug-in.

•The audio signal from the channel is sent to the outputs on the audio hardware, through your external effect device and back to the program via the inputs on the audio hardware.

21

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

•A parameter window appears, showing the Delay, Send Gain and Return Gain settings for the external FX bus. You can adjust these as necessary while playing back. The parameter window also provides the “Measure Effect’s Loop Delay for Delay Compensation” button. This is the same function as the “Check User Delay” option in the VST Connections window. It provides Cubase with a Delay value to be used for delay compensation. When you have defined a MIDI device for the effect, the corresponding Device window will be opened. When Studio Manager 2 is installed, and you have set up a corresponding OPT editor, this OPT editor will be displayed.

Measure Effect’s Loop

Delay button

The default parameter window for an external effect

Like any effect, you can use the external FX bus as an insert effect or as a send effect (an insert effect on an FX channel track). You can deactivate or bypass the external effect with the usual controls.

Setting up external instruments

1.Open the VST Connections window from the Devices menu.

2.Open the External Instrument tab and click “Add External Instrument”.

3. In the dialog that appears, enter a name for the external instrument and specify the number of required mono and/or stereo returns.

Depending on the type of instrument, a specific number of mono and/or stereo return channels is required.

• You also need a MIDI device that corresponds with the external instrument. You can then click the Associate MIDI Device button to connect the two.

You can use the MIDI Device Manager to create a new MIDI device. For information about the MIDI Device Manager and user device panels, see the chapter “Using MIDI devices” on page 314.

4. Click OK.

This adds a new external instrument bus.

5.Click in the Device Port column for the “Left” and “Right” ports of the Return Bus and select the inputs on your audio hardware to which you connected the external instrument.

6.If you like, make additional settings for the bus.

These are found in the columns to the right. Note that you can adjust these while actually using the external instrument – which may be easier as you can hear the result. The following options are available:

Setting	Description
Delay	If your hardware device has an inherent delay (latency),
	you should enter this value here. This allows Cubase to
	compensate for that delay during playback. Note that you
	do not have to take the latency of the audio hardware into
	account – this is handled automatically by the program.
Return Gain	Allows you to adjust the level of the signal coming in from
	the external instrument.
	Note however that excessive output levels from an exter-
	nal device may cause clipping in the audio hardware. The
	Return Gain setting cannot be used to compensate for
	this – you have to lower the output level on the device in-
	stead.
MIDI Device	When you click in this column, a pop-up menu opens
	where you can disconnect the instrument from the asso-
	ciated MIDI device, select a MIDI device, create a new
	device or open the MIDI Device Manager to edit the MIDI
	device.
	When Studio Manager 2 is installed, you may also select
	an OPT editor to access your external instrument.
Used	Whenever you insert the external instrument into a VST
	Instrument slot, this column shows a checkmark (“x”) to
	indicate that the instrument is being used.

7. When you are done, close the VST Connections window.

Ö Note that external device ports are exclusive, see “Connecting the external effect/instrument” on page 20.

22

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

How to use the external instrument

Once you have set up the external instrument in the VST Connections window, you can use it as a VST Instrument. Open the VST Instruments window and click on an empty instrument slot. On the Instrument pop-up menu, your external instrument is listed on the External Plug-ins submenu:

When you select the external instrument in the VST Instruments window, the following happens:

•A parameter window for the external device is opened automatically. This may either be the Device window, allowing you to create a generic device panel, an OPT editor window or a default editor. For information about the Device window, the MIDI Device Manager and User device panels, see the chapter “Using MIDI devices” on page 314.

To send MIDI notes to the external instrument, open the Output Routing pop-up menu in the Inspector for the corresponding MIDI track and select the MIDI device to which the external instrument is connected. This ensures use of delay compensation. The instrument will now play any MIDI notes it receives from this track and return them to Cubase through the return channel(s) you have set up.

The external instrument will behave like any other VST Instrument in Cubase.

About the Favorites buttons

In the VST Connections window, both the External FX tab and the External Instruments tab feature a Favorites button.

The Favorites button on the External FX tab

Favorites are device configurations that you can recall at any time, like a library of external devices that are not constantly connected to your computer. They also allow you to save different configurations for the same device, e.g. a multi-effect board or an effect that provides both a mono and a stereo mode.

To save a device configuration as a favorite, proceed as follows:

•When you have added a new device in the VST Connections window, select it in the Bus Name column and click the Favorites button.

A context menu is displayed showing an option to add the selected effect or instrument to the Favorites.

•You can recall the stored configuration at any time by clicking the Favorites button and selecting the device name from the context menu.

About the “plug-in could not be found” message

When you open a project that uses an external effect/instrument, you may get a “plug-in could not be found” message. This will happen when you remove an external device from the VST Connections window although it is used in a saved project, or when transferring a project to another computer on which the external device is not defined. You may also see this message when opening a project created with an earlier version of Cubase.

In the VST Connections window, the broken connection to the external device is indicated by an icon in the Bus Name column.

To reestablish the broken connection to the external device, simply right-click the entry for the device in the Bus Name column and select “Connect External Effect”. The icon is removed, and you can use the external device within your project as before.

Note that busses set up for external effects or external instruments are saved “globally”, i.e. for your particular computer setup.

23

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

Freezing external effects/instruments

Just as when working with regular VST instruments and effects, you can also choose to freeze external effects and instruments. The general procedure is described in detail in the chapters “Audio effects” on page 150 and “VST Instruments and Instrument tracks” on page 169.

Note that you have to perform Freeze in realtime. Otherwise external effects will not be taken into account.

When freezing external instruments or effects, you can adjust the corresponding tail value in the Freeze Channel Options dialog:

•Use the arrow buttons next to the Tail Size value field to set the desired Tail length, i.e. the range after the part boundary that should also be included for the freeze. You can also click directly in the value field and enter the desired value manually (the maximum value being 60s).

•When the Tail Size is set to 0s (default), the freezing will only take into account the data within the Part boundaries.

24

VST Connections: Setting up input and output busses

3

The Project window

Background

The Project window is the main window in Cubase. This provides you with an overview of the project, allowing you to navigate and perform large scale editing. Each project has one Project window.

About tracks

The Project window is divided vertically into tracks, with a timeline running horizontally from left to right. The following track types are available:

Track type	Description
Audio	For recording and playing back audio events and audio
	parts. Each audio track has a corresponding audio chan-
	nel in the mixer.
	An audio track can have any number of automation tracks
	for automating mixer channel parameters, effect settings,
	etc.
Folder	Folder tracks function as containers for other tracks,
	making it easier to organize and manage the track struc-
	ture. They also allow you to edit several tracks at the
	same time. See “Folder tracks” on page 53.
FX Channel	FX channel tracks are used for adding send effects. Each
	FX channel can contain up to eight effect processors – by
	routing effect sends from an audio channel to an FX chan-
	nel, you send audio from the audio channel to the effect(s)
	on the FX channel. Each FX channel has a corresponding
	channel strip in the mixer – in essence an effect return
	channel. See the chapter “Audio effects” on page 150.
	All FX channel tracks are automatically placed in a special
	FX channel folder in the Track list, for easy management.
	An FX channel can also have any number of automation
	tracks for automating mixer channel parameters, effect set-
	tings, etc.
Group	By routing several audio channels to a Group channel,
Channel	you can submix them, apply the same effects to them,
	etc. (see “Using group channels” on page 127).
	A Group channel track contains no events as such, but
	displays settings and automation curves for the corre-
	sponding Group channel. Each Group channel track has
	a corresponding channel strip in the mixer. In the Project
	window, Group channels are organized as tracks in a
	special Group Tracks folder.
Instrument	This allows you to create a track for a dedicated instru-
	ment, making e.g. VST instrument handling easier and
	more intuitive. Instrument tracks have a corresponding
	channel strip in the mixer. Each instrument track can have
	any number of automation tracks in the Project window.
	However, Volume and Pan are automated from within the
	mixer. It is possible to edit Instrument tracks directly in
	the Project window, using the Edit In-Place function (see
	“The In-Place Editor” on page 356). For more information
	on instrument tracks, see the chapter “VST Instruments
	and Instrument tracks” on page 169.

Track type	Description
MIDI	For recording and playing back MIDI parts. Each MIDI
	track has a corresponding MIDI channel strip in the mixer.
	It is possible to edit MIDI tracks directly in the Project
	window, using the Edit In-Place function (see “The In-
	Place Editor” on page 356).
	A MIDI track can have any number of automation tracks
	for automating mixer channel parameters, insert and send
	effect settings etc.
Marker	The Marker track displays markers which can be moved
	and renamed directly in the Project window (see “Mark-
	ers” on page 54). A project can have only one marker
	track.
Arranger	The Arranger track is used for arranging your project, by
	marking out sections in the project and determining in
	which order they should be played back. See the chapter
	“The Arranger track” on page 96.
Ruler	Ruler tracks contain additional rulers, displaying the time-
(Cubase only)	line from left to right. You can use any number of ruler
	tracks, each with a different display format if you wish.
	See “The ruler” on page 33 for more information about
	the ruler and the display formats.
Signature	Time signature events can be added and edited on the
	signature track, or in the Tempo Track Editor window. A
	project can have only one signature track. See the chap-
	ter “Editing tempo and signature” on page 401 for details.
Tempo	You can create tempo changes within a project using the
	tempo track. A project can have only one tempo track.
	See the chapter “Editing tempo and signature” on page
	401 for details.
Transpose	The Transpose track allows you to set global key
	changes. A project can have only one transpose track.
	See the chapter “The Transpose functions” on page 103.
Video	For playing back video events. A project can have only
	one video track.

About parts and events

The tracks in the Project window contain parts and/or events. Events are the basic building blocks in Cubase. Different event types are handled differently in the Project window:

•Video events and automation events (curve points) are always viewed and rearranged directly in the Project window.

•MIDI events can always be found in MIDI parts, which are containers for one or more MIDI events. MIDI parts are rearranged and manipulated in the Project window. To edit the individual MIDI events in a part, you have to open the part in a MIDI editor (see “The MIDI editors” on page 337).

26

The Project window

•Audio events can be displayed and edited directly in the Project window, but you can also work with audio parts containing several events. This is useful if you have a number of events which you want to treat as one unit in the project. Audio parts also contain information about the time position in the project.

An audio event and an audio part

Audio handling

When you work with audio files, it is crucial to understand how audio is handled in Cubase:

When you edit or process audio in the Project window, you always work with an audio clip that is automatically created on import or during recording. This audio clip refers to an audio file on the hard disk that itself remains untouched. This means, that audio editing and processing is “non-destructive”, in the sense that you can always undo changes or revert to the original versions.

An audio clip does not necessarily refer to just one original audio file! If you apply e.g. some processing to a specific section of an audio clip, this will create a new audio file containing only this section. The processing will then be applied to the new audio file only, leaving the original audio file unchanged. Finally, the audio clip is automatically adjusted, so that it refers both to the original file and to the new, processed file. During playback, the program will switch between the original file and the processed file at the correct positions. You will hear this as a single recording, with processing applied to one section only. This feature makes it possible to undo processing at a later stage, and to apply different processing to different audio clips that refer to the same original file.

An audio event is the object that you place on a time position in Cubase. If you make copies of an audio event and move them to different positions in the project, they will still all refer to the same audio clip. Furthermore, each audio event has an Offset value and a Length value. These determine at which positions in the clip the event will start

and end, i.e. which section of the audio clip will be played back by the audio event. For example, if you resize the audio event, you will just change its start and/or end position in the audio clip – the clip itself will not be affected.

An audio region is a section within a clip with a length value, a start time, and a snap point. Audio regions are shown in the pool and are best created and edited in the Sample Editor.

Ö If you want to use one audio file in different contexts, or if you want to create several loops from one audio file, you should convert the corresponding regions of the audio clip to events and bounce them into separate audio files. This is necessary since different events that refer to the same clip access the same clip information.

27

The Project window

Window Overview

	Toolbar
Info line
Project	Ruler
overview

Inspector

The Track list with various track types

The event display, showing audio parts and events, MIDI parts, automation, markers, etc.

The Track list

The Track list displays all the tracks used in a project. It contains name fields and settings for the tracks. Different track types have different controls in the Track list. To see all the controls you may have to resize the track in the Track list (see “Resizing tracks in the Track list” on page 35).

• The Track list area for an audio track:

				Automation Read/Write Edit channel settings
Mute &		Track		Record Enable &			Freeze Audio
Solo		name		Monitor			Track
							Track
							activity
							indicator
							Lane Display
Show/hide				Musical/Linear Lock track
automation				Time Base			Type

Indicates whether effect sends, EQ or insert effects are activated for the track. Click to bypass.

• The Track list area for an automation track (opened by clicking the Show/Hide Automation button on a track):

Automation Read/Write

Append automation track

Mute	Lock track	Automation parameter
		(click to select parameter)

• The Track list area for a MIDI track:

	Record Enable &			Edit channel		Edit		Effect sends/in-
	Monitor			settings		In-Place		sert effects
Mute &		Track		Automation				indicators and
								bypass
Solo		name		Read/Write
								Track
								activity
								indicator
		Bank	Patch	MIDI channel			MIDI
							Output
Drum	map, Lock track and Lane display type

28

The Project window

The Inspector

The area to the left of the Track list is called the Inspector. This shows additional controls and parameters for the track you have selected in the Track list. If several tracks are selected (see “Handling tracks” on page 38), the Inspector shows the setting for the first (topmost) selected track.

To hide or show the Inspector, click the Inspector icon in the toolbar.

The Inspector icon

• For most track classes, the Inspector is divided into a number of sections, each containing different controls for the track. You can hide or show sections by clicking on their names.

Clicking the name for a hidden section brings it into view and hides the other sections. [Ctrl]/[Command]-clicking the section name allows you to hide or show a section without affecting the other sections. [Alt]/[Op- tion]-clicking a section name shows or hides all sections in the Inspector.

• You can also use key commands to show different Inspector sections.

These are set up in the Key Commands dialog, see “Setting up key commands” on page 480.

Ö Hiding a section does not affect its functionality.

For example, if you have set up a track parameter or activated an effect, your settings will still be active even if you hide the respective Inspector section.

Which sections are available in the Inspector depends on the selected track.

Ö Please note that not all Inspector tabs are shown by default. You can show/hide Inspector sections by rightclicking on an Inspector tab and activating/deactivating the desired option(s).

Make sure you right-click on an inspector tab and not on the empty area below the Inspector, as this will open the Quick context menu instead.

The Inspector Setup context menu

Inspector sections

The Inspector contains the controls that can be found on the Track list, plus some additional buttons and parameters. In the table below, these additional settings and the different sections are listed. Which sections are available for which track type is described in the following sections.

Parameter	Description
Auto Fades	Opens a dialog in which you can make separate Auto
Settings	Fade settings for the audio track. See “Making Auto Fade
button	settings for a separate track” on page 95.
Edit Channel	Opens the Channel Settings window for the track, allow-
settings	ing you to view and adjust effect and EQ settings, etc.
	See “Using Channel Settings” on page 122.
Volume	Use this to adjust the level for the track. Changing this
	setting will move the track’s fader in the mixer window,
	and vice versa. See “Setting volume in the mixer” on page
	117 to learn more about setting levels.
Pan	Use this to adjust the panning of the track. As with the
	Volume setting, this corresponds to the Pan setting in the
	mixer.
Delay	This adjusts the playback timing of the audio track. Posi-
	tive values delay the playback while negative values
	cause the track to play earlier. The values are set in milli-
	seconds.
Input Routing	This lets you specify which Input bus or MIDI input the
	track should use (see “Setting up busses” on page 14 for
	information about Input busses).

29

The Project window

Parameter	Description
Output	Here you decide to which output the track should be
Routing	routed. For audio tracks you select an output bus (see
	“Setting up busses” on page 14) or Group channel, for
	MIDI tracks you select a MIDI output and for Instrument
	tracks, you select the Instrument to which it is routed.
Inserts section	Allows you to add insert effects to the track, see the
	chapters “Audio effects” on page 150 and “MIDI realtime
	parameters and effects” on page 305. The Edit button at
	the top of the section opens the control panels for the
	added insert effects.
Equalizers	Lets you adjust the EQs for the track. You can have up to
section	four bands of EQ for each track, see “Making EQ set-
	tings” on page 123. The Edit button at the top of the sec-
	tion opens the Channel Settings window for the track.
Equalizer	Lets you adjust the EQs for the track graphically, by click-
Curve section	ing and dragging points in a curve display.
Sends section	Allows you to route an audio track to one or several FX
	channels (up to eight), see the chapter “Audio effects” on
	page 150. For MIDI tracks, this is where you assign MIDI
	send effects. The Edit button at the top of the section
	opens the control panel for the first effect in each FX
	channel.
Studio Sends	The Studio Sends are used to route cue mixes to Control
(Cubase only)	Room Studios. For a detailed description of Studios and
	Studio Sends, see the chapter “Control Room (Cubase
	only)” on page 135.
Surround Pan	When the SurroundPanner is used for a track, this is also
(Cubase only)	available in the Inspector. For further information, see
	“Using the SurroundPanner” on page 184.
Channel	Shows a duplicate of the corresponding mixer channel
section	strip. The channel overview strip to the left lets you acti-
	vate and deactivate insert effects, EQs and sends.
Notepad	This is a standard text notepad, allowing you to jot down
section	notes about the track.
	If you have entered any notes about a track, the icon next
	to the “Notepad” heading will light up to indicate this.
	Moving the pointer over the icon will display the Notepad
	text in a tooltip.
User Panel	Here you can display device panels, e.g. for external MIDI
(Cubase only)	devices, audio track panels or VST insert effect panels.
	For information on how to create or import MIDI device
	and user panels, see the separate PDF document “MIDI
	Devices”.
Quick Controls	Here you can configure quick controls, e.g. to use remote
	devices. See the chapter “Track Quick Controls” on
	page 295.

Audio tracks

For audio tracks, all settings and sections listed above are available.

Instrument tracks

As explained in the chapter “VST Instruments and Instrument tracks” on page 169, the Inspector for an Instrument track shows some of the sections you would find for VST Instrument channels and MIDI tracks.

MIDI tracks

When a MIDI track is selected, the Inspector contains a number of additional sections and parameters, affecting the MIDI events in realtime (e.g. on playback). Which sections are available for MIDI tracks is described in the chapter “MIDI realtime parameters and effects” on page 305.

Arranger track

For the Arranger track, the Inspector displays the lists of available Arranger chains and Arranger events. See “The Arranger track” on page 96 for details.

Folder tracks

When a folder track is selected, the Inspector shows the folder and its underlying tracks, much like a folder structure in the Windows Explorer or Mac OS X Finder.

Ö You can click one of the tracks shown under the folder in the Inspector to have the Inspector show the settings for that track. This way, you don’t have to “open” a folder track to make settings for tracks within it.

FX channel tracks

When an FX channel track is selected, the following controls and sections are available:

•Edit button

•Volume control

•Pan control

•Output Routing pop-up menu

•Inserts section

•Equalizers section

•Equalizer Curve section

•Sends section

•Studio Sends section (Cubase only)

•Surround Pan section (Cubase only)

•Channel section

•Notepad section

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The Project window